UniquelyGeneric's recent activity
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Comment on Megalopolis | Teaser trailer in ~movies
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Comment on Is TV advertising still relevant? Does anybody under 60 even watch traditional TV anymore? in ~tv
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentI can also shed some light on this as an insider. Nielsen ratings for linear TV dominated the broadcast industry due to the dinosaur executives running media corps not understanding how to...the content providers hated this and had it contractually either eliminated from their channels or limited to 7
I can also shed some light on this as an insider. Nielsen ratings for linear TV dominated the broadcast industry due to the dinosaur executives running media corps not understanding how to monetize OTT/CTV. Those Nielsen ratings are called C3 and C7 ratings, basically content viewed within 3 or 7 days, respectively. After 7 days, there's essentially no more money to make off the original ads baked into the broadcast feed. The ads themselves are being sold around this time of year during what's called "upfronts" because the deals commit millions of dollars upfront in the Spring, but are actually applied to the following Fall season and beyond. Media corps can expect to make 50-80% of their annual revenue in these massive upfront deals, which hinge on the viewership captured in C3/C7 measurement.
After 7 days, the worthless ads can be stripped and replaced with remnant inventory (often called "scatter" as it's often used to fill in gaps), which is priced far lower than the upfront inventory. The kicker is that the C3/C7 ratings often do not account for digital distribution, despite that being a growing audience. Media execs effectively see the content itself as worthless outside of C7 ratings, which is also partly why Aereo/Locast were killed by the industry: networks didn't make more money off of it. Rather than band together and create an easy method for consumers to access Live TV content, all these companies have siloed their live broadcasts into their digital fiefdoms where they can nickel and dime the consumer for access.
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Comment on Is TV advertising still relevant? Does anybody under 60 even watch traditional TV anymore? in ~tv
UniquelyGeneric (edited )LinkHere's a personal tale of how traditional television is killing its own future: I was a previous user of the ill-fated Locast free broadcast streaming service, which I mostly used to watch Late...Here's a personal tale of how traditional television is killing its own future:
I was a previous user of the ill-fated Locast free broadcast streaming service, which I mostly used to watch Late Night TV (e.g. Colbert, Seth Meyers) because I couldn't access the content via any over-the-air broadcasts on my digital antenna (my apartment windows faced the wrong way).
It seemed, at the time, totally fair to me that I should be able to watch the otherwise-free content while being simulcast online, at basically no cost to me. Yes, there were uninterruptible ads trying to convince you to donate $5 to keep the service running (and to stop the ads begging for $5...i.e. the Spotify model of converting customers), but those ads were in addition to the ads from the original broadcast feed. Ultimately $5 was a more reasonable deal than paying $100+ for multiple subscription services to access Live TV that I occasionally used for an hour or two during late night. This wasn't piracy, it was publicly accessible with the equipment I already owned.
Unfortunately, Locast suffered the same fate as its predecessor, Aereo, and got shutdown by US courts on behalf of the TV networks. Aereo's fatal flaw was trying to profit off of a re-broadcast of local TV stations without giving the station owners a cut. Locast attempted to work around that established case law by streaming local broadcasts as a non-profit organization, which was legally protected at that point. Locast even geolocated your IP address to ensure you only viewed your local station's broadcast. This, again, felt fair to ensure that the local advertisers (who only get 2 minutes each hour) were only seen by the relevant locals they purchased ads for.
The app was a little janky at times, but I could still cast the service to a TV from my phone, which powered multi-viewer experiences like watching celebrity hosted-SNL at apartment parties, or impromptu watching football games with my fantasy league. This should have been the empowering technology to finally connect the decentralized (yet massive) Internet audience with the centralized (and human-scale) media industry.
Instead, our only legal option is a reinvention of the cable bundle. I'm sure there's plenty of families today in America without access to any other live news sources than what their phones can currently provide (which usually defaults to social media). The reason I discovered Locast initially was because the broadcast stations I had were sparse! The only major networks I had access to were ABC and FOX...I couldn't get NBC and see the Olympics at home despite that same station being played at every single bar in my city.
Live/Linear TV is arguably the most highly valued content there is (hence why sports are the last holdout to transition to digital streaming). Despite this fact, I think Live TV's active hindrance to its own accessibility will ultimately be to its own chagrin. Regular people's time is limited, and so users will migrate to the most available free sources (i.e. YouTube) to spend what little time that could have been otherwise watched on live network TV.
It seems ridiculous today that people once watched the Seinfeld finale live in Times Square...at this point, even Game of Thrones watch parties feel anachronistic. We seem to have lost the cultural touchstone of watching live events altogether, and perhaps that lack of a collective experience is contributing to some of the current friction and strife we're seeing all around these days.
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How do you organize all your electronic gadgets/accessories?
I'm in the process of moving apartments, and I'm realizing I don't have an elegant solution to all of the tech gadgets/accessories/junk my hoarding tendencies refuse to let go of. By electronic...
I'm in the process of moving apartments, and I'm realizing I don't have an elegant solution to all of the tech gadgets/accessories/junk my hoarding tendencies refuse to let go of.
By electronic accessories I mean all the cables, flash drives, SD cards, dongles, headphones, power bricks, etc. that have I've gathered over the years. There are some larger items like musical instrument cables, wireless speakers, an computer mouse, even an old PS3 I don't really know what to do with. While most don't get used frequently, there have definitely been times where one of these items comes in clutch.
I'm not opposed to getting dedicated furniture like an under-desk cabinet, although I would want to make sure the space is used efficiently, and that it can be sturdy enough to be multipurpose (e.g. my work office cabinets have a cushion that can be used for sitting on top of). I'm in NYC so space is a premium and there's a low likelihood that I'll have extra space in existing drawers/closets, so I'd prefer a standalone solution.
Hoping there might be some clever solutions/suggestions Tilerinos find handy, even if it's accepting that a Marie Kondo-style purge of unused electronics is necessary.
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Comment on ChatGPT provides false information about people, and OpenAI can’t correct it in ~tech
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentIn the eyes of privacy law, a hash does not prevent data from being personally identifiable. If you hash an email address, the uniqueness of the hash can still be used to identify you in another...In the eyes of privacy law, a hash does not prevent data from being personally identifiable. If you hash an email address, the uniqueness of the hash can still be used to identify you in another dataset with hashed emails.
In this way, an pure obfuscation of data does not obliviate its data provenance, and so by extension the weights in an LLM that were trained off of personal information should still carry the obligations of data deletion/correction.
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Comment on Is there an intuitive (but powerful) music thingie? in ~music
UniquelyGeneric LinkHave you heard of the Artphon Orba? It’s a more intuitively built looper that lets you layer drum, bass, chords and a solo of various electronic sounds. It doesn’t take much music know-how because...Have you heard of the Artphon Orba? It’s a more intuitively built looper that lets you layer drum, bass, chords and a solo of various electronic sounds. It doesn’t take much music know-how because all the notes are automatically in the same key. There’s an app you can change three key as well as experiment with various sound packs to use, but the real fun is just doing an impromptu jam when you’re bored.
Easy to travel with and it can connect via aux cord to a speaker. It can output midi through USB to use with a DAW but I’ve never tried doing that with a whole loop going, so it may only capture the currently played voice.
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Comment on Man sets himself on fire near courthouse where Donald Trump is on trial (gifted link) in ~news
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentYes! That’s the one! I had the same reaction as you, so I didn’t focus too much on what he looked like, but I want to say he seemed younger/college-aged and so unlikely to be the one who...Yes! That’s the one! I had the same reaction as you, so I didn’t focus too much on what he looked like, but I want to say he seemed younger/college-aged and so unlikely to be the one who self-immolated.
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Comment on Man sets himself on fire near courthouse where Donald Trump is on trial (gifted link) in ~news
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentI saw a guy holding a “Ponzi Papers” protest sign walking through Washington Square Park earlier this week. If it wasn’t the same guy, then he has at least one follower, which is disconcerting. I...I saw a guy holding a “Ponzi Papers” protest sign walking through Washington Square Park earlier this week. If it wasn’t the same guy, then he has at least one follower, which is disconcerting.
I had been outside the courthouse for Trump’s initial arraignment for this hush-money case, and the park had so many wild protestors who had come out of the woodwork for the event. A person dressed as a pile of shit holding a sign with indecipherable screed, a black woman who painted herself white sexually harassing the pro-Trump protestors, a guy in a banana costume, and many other political factions waving their various flags.
It seems the circus these events have become attracts the people on the fringe including the mentally ill. They don’t even need to be directly addressing the court case itself, just taking advantage of the limelight. Perhaps even the media coverage itself is introducing people to these fringe views, furthering radicalization.
I’m not sure what the solution is, but I’m not looking forward to the run up to the election this November as tensions will certainly be ramped up.
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Comment on There used to be a people’s bank at the US Post Office in ~finance
UniquelyGeneric (edited )LinkFor reference, the initial deposit limit is ~$16K today, and the expansion became ~$52K. The data last collected by the Federal Reserve in 2019 places the US average household savings at $41,600,...The system could operate “only in designated post offices, redeposit its funds in existing banks, and pay a noncompetitive 2 percent interest rate,” Shaw writes. There was also a $500 deposit ceiling.
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Ferocious opposition by bankers, however, prevented such expansion, except for an increase in the deposit ceiling to $2,500 in 1918.
For reference, the initial deposit limit is ~$16K today, and the expansion became ~$52K.
The data last collected by the Federal Reserve in 2019 places the US average household savings at $41,600, with a median at $5,300. This implies that the vast majority of Americans could be serviced by the Postal Savings System’s initial configurations (adjusted for inflation). It’s also likely those numbers are more optimistic than more recent studies suggest.
The 2% interest rate is also something unheard of today as most savings accounts offer 0.5% at best, putting high yield savings accounts aside (which most poor Americans wouldn’t use anyways). People probably shouldn’t use a savings account as an investment vehicle, but it’s hard to argue against the security of a government-backed bank.
I’m a big fan of the US Postal Service and I despise the constant attempts to make it unprofitable as a way to justify the privatization of it. It provides better services than its private counterparts (e.g. true last-mile delivery, PO Boxes, Informed Delivery), and has a crazy cheap cost (the recent stamp increase to 73¢ is still far cheaper than every alternative), especially given its connection to the global Express Mail Service Cooperative (servicing 180 countries).
The idea that Republicans bandy about, that we should disband one of the fundamental services baked into the US Constitution (due to Ben Franklin, nonetheless), is abhorrent to me. It’s arguable that the USPS’s ubiquity and government backing is what powered the US’s prominence as information needed to travel at an increasing pace on the run up to the Information Age we currently live in.
This banking “side-gig” also seems to have supported Americans during a period that had the most economic strife as well. I’m all for bringing it back, and the cursory research I did to write this comment has only solidified my opinion that the USPS is a net-benefit to society, and can do even more if we just don’t let private interests get in the way.
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Comment on What's something you've been mulling over recently? in ~talk
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentI also compulsively bring a steam deck on flights. What I noticed really improved my experience (and allowed me to play more than 30 mins before giving it up), was to use a stand and a controller....I also compulsively bring a steam deck on flights. What I noticed really improved my experience (and allowed me to play more than 30 mins before giving it up), was to use a stand and a controller.
I got a 3D printed stand off Etsy (with an external battery attachment), and I prefer a DualSense controller. Add on noise-cancelling headphones and you can really mentally exit the airplane experience without needing a Vision Pro.
Late at night it would be nicer to have an OLED screen to dim some of the brightness, but I’m usually sleeping on those flights anyways. Removing the discomfort of holding the steam deck at a low angle made the most difference. I’ve seen “clip your tablet here” type seatbacks, and that would be ideal with my setup to have the steam deck at eye-height.
When I travel with my girlfriend we can kill an hour playing a coop game by using the kickstand on a single person’s tray table and sharing headphones (pairing two Bluetooth headsets is more troublesome on Linux). We each have a separate controller and it’s fun to play a split-screen platformer like It Takes Two or Sackboy given the screen size.
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Comment on Jon Stewart on the false promises of AI in ~tech
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentStewart’s interview later that episode was with FTC Chair, Lina Khan, where he lays into Big Tech and consolidation of corporate powers to the consumer-antagonistic oligopolies we see today. He...Stewart’s interview later that episode was with FTC Chair, Lina Khan, where he lays into Big Tech and consolidation of corporate powers to the consumer-antagonistic oligopolies we see today. He links this to his earlier segment by claiming that the AI being let run rampant and acquired by the same Big Tech players today will only entrench their power over us as they realize the gains of productivity while using anti-competitive behavior to squeeze consumers and businesses alike.
Ultimately he does point a finger at Bezos, but in a comedic comparison to Lex Luthor, rather than the main focus of his ire.
I do think he’s aware of worker exploitation, but on such a broad topic of anti-trust enforcement there’s only so much he could cover in the interview timed-bound for TV. He even admits that he wishes he could keep Lina Khan as a permanent guest to continue the conversation.
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Comment on Nobody warned electric vehicle owners how quickly they would burn through tires in ~transport
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentI rented a Tesla for the first time a month ago (not by choice, it was the “mystery car” cheapest option next to a pickup truck…a comparison worthy of its own discussion another day I’m sure). It...I rented a Tesla for the first time a month ago (not by choice, it was the “mystery car” cheapest option next to a pickup truck…a comparison worthy of its own discussion another day I’m sure).
It being my first time in a “factory reset” Tesla and I was surprised how much torque is allowed in the default mode. “Chill mode” was far more inline to how I drive ICE vehicles (as an admitted New Yorker who drives rarely).
I feel like if “chill mode” was actually the default we’d have many more Tesla owner’s treating their daily commute with a “Sunday drive” mentality rather than the perceived hyper aggressiveness they seem to impose on the road due to over-powered acceleration.
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Comment on The Abilene Paradox in ~life
UniquelyGeneric LinkReading HN (sorry for linking a comment, I hit a paywall on the actual article), I saw a study referenced that feels like exactly this phenomena: that students would prefer to collectively be off...Reading HN (sorry for linking a comment, I hit a paywall on the actual article), I saw a study referenced that feels like exactly this phenomena: that students would prefer to collectively be off of social media, but in practice they are all actively on it even though they know it’s a detriment to their mental health.
This feels like a form of the prisoner’s dilemma: there’s a clear Pareto optimum, but due to the nature of FOMO everyone makes the collective result worse for each other.
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Comment on You don't need to document everything in ~tech
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentMy problem with this is when you get caught in an infinite scroll of all your photos looking for the specific event you’re talking about. It’s an awkward pause as I’m now distracted, frantically...My problem with this is when you get caught in an infinite scroll of all your photos looking for the specific event you’re talking about.
It’s an awkward pause as I’m now distracted, frantically going through a variety of photos (my girlfriend will stop at a few random photos along the way and make pit stop in conversation…sometimes losing the original search in the process), and I usually fumble trying to keep the conversation flowing to fill the void.
Sometimes I eventually find the perfect pic to showcase what I was describing, but many times I give up the search and tell the other person “I’ll have to show you later.” There is no later, and I think the story would have been better suited to just have maintained eye contact and relied on my description before getting hopes up.
It’s this image search, eyes glued to my phone while talking to someone in real life that also seems to pull you out of the moment. Doesn’t even have to be a photo I’ve taken, sometimes it’s a google search that I just can’t find the right query terms to relocate a specific meme. It’s frustrating, but it makes me wonder if there will soon be AI assistants to perform this tedious task and free my attention to continue engaging in meat space.
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Comment on A new service is trying to fight California's loneliness epidemic in ~life
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentMy girlfriend made a good friend off of Bumble BFF after moving to a new city, albeit after multiple other failed attempts through the same app. I personally used a short-lived app, Party With a...My girlfriend made a good friend off of Bumble BFF after moving to a new city, albeit after multiple other failed attempts through the same app.
I personally used a short-lived app, Party With a Local, that had a brief heyday in NYC. The concept was for tourists who wanted to be guided to more authentic bars by someone willing to explore and provide conversation. I’ve only made a single long-term friend out of the dozens of people I met on that app, though.
I definitely think there’s a market for a matching service for hanging out in-person, but there’s definitely a similar dynamic to dating where you may not vibe with the stranger once you finally meet them.
Pre-pandemic I attended Meetups (the company) with a friend but they tended to attract the more socially inept, which made for awkward conversations. During the pandemic I had considered doing an NYC Reddit meetup, but got scared away by friends alluding to stereotypes of the “average redditor.” Industry networking events usually had more socially capable participants, but they were also a little too much Type A go-getters who use you for their career/LinkedIn rather than seeking real connections. At least the booze tends to be free at those events :)
If I had to design an app/service suited for the type of friend-seeking that the article is about, I think I would try to pair groups of 3-4 to enable better chances of a connection being made (and to save the awkwardness of two people reaching a lull in conversation). I’d also make the service take care of the event organization by suggesting a venue & time based on previously provided availabilities and geographic preferences(à la Bounce. Throw in some conversation starters (à la Omegle, RIP) and it should be enough to get most people engaged.
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Comment on Once more with feeling: Banning TikTok is unconstitutional and won’t do shit to deal with any actual threats in ~tech
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentNot a developer but I deal with cross-platform data privacy and apps certainly have more access to device data than a website accessed via a browser does. Even if the sandboxed apps and...Not a developer but I deal with cross-platform data privacy and apps certainly have more access to device data than a website accessed via a browser does.
Even if the sandboxed apps and consent-managed APIs limit what’s accessible to an app developer, there’s always a risk of a zero-day exploit that Apple/Google are unaware of. Given that state-level actors are the main driver behind this legislation, this seems a reasonable concern.
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Comment on An influential economics forum has a troubling surplus of trolls in ~finance
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentI forget where online I read this take, but it seems to ring true any time I see the disconnect between economic models and reality. Behavioral economics (as referenced in another comment)...Economics is an ideology masquerading as a science.
I forget where online I read this take, but it seems to ring true any time I see the disconnect between economic models and reality.
Behavioral economics (as referenced in another comment) attempts to address this issue head-on, but is more limited to microeconomics than macro, imho.
Keynes, Friedman, and even Adam Smith himself all seem to subscribe to this romanticization of macroeconomics as a theory for everything, when the reality seems to be more messy.
The Black-Scholes model became a self-fulfilling prophecy in my opinion due to the incompetence of financial analysts’ ability for truly independent analysis (and greed was probably another driver).
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Comment on Restaurant advice Astoria, Queens, NYC in ~travel
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentI second Astoria seafood! A little intimidating at first, but quite casual. Byob if you wanted to pair the meal with any drinks.I second Astoria seafood! A little intimidating at first, but quite casual. Byob if you wanted to pair the meal with any drinks.
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Comment on Restaurant advice Astoria, Queens, NYC in ~travel
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentHere's some of the best dinners I've had in NYC: One Fifth Greenwich Village. Italian. Excellent service. Old New York vibes. Reasonably upscale food and ambience without breaking the bank....Here's some of the best dinners I've had in NYC:
- One Fifth
- Greenwich Village. Italian. Excellent service. Old New York vibes. Reasonably upscale food and ambience without breaking the bank. In-house gelateria. Extensive Amaro selection if you want to try unique flavors without drinking a ton. Been here multiple times with my girlfriend and always had a good time. Based on your preferences, this is my primary suggestion.
- Gramercy Tavern
- Gramercy. New American. From Danny Meyer of Eleven Madison fame. Make sure to book the Dining Room for a more intimate and upscaled experience. I did the prix fixe dinner menu along with the wine pairing for a special occasion and it was probably the best meal I've ever had. Since price is a constraint, there are a la carte options.
- One if by Land, Two if by Sea
- Greenwich Village. American. 3 or 7-course prix fixe. Live piano jazz music. One of the most romantic venues in NYC, known for many proposals happening here. Definitely on the pricier end, but worth a mention.
Honorable mention:
- Flatiron Room
- NoMad. New American. Live jazz and Old New York ambience. Very much a whiskey and cocktails joint, but has fine dining, too. Not as pretentious as it sounds, but the burger on the menu is $29 so it's not plebeian either.
Also, my two cents: avoid Hudson Yards entirely. It's a capitalist hellhole with nothing but office buildings and luxury apartments you can't enter, surrounded by an overpriced mall. Its centerpiece is the suicide shawarma. It's difficult to get to, so if you want to experience a soulless part of the city as a tourist there's plenty more readily accessible in midtown. If you want luxury shopping just do Fifth Avenue. IMHO, you'd be wasting your time otherwise.
- One Fifth
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Comment on Is an ethical social media platform even possible? in ~tech
UniquelyGeneric Link ParentI have tried multiple times to simultaneously post listings on both Craigslist and FB Marketplace to increase my chances at finding a buyer. Both times FB Marketplace actually led me to a sale....I have tried multiple times to simultaneously post listings on both Craigslist and FB Marketplace to increase my chances at finding a buyer. Both times FB Marketplace actually led me to a sale.
One time I listed a piano keyboard on Craigslist at a certain price point, but in the description I said I had some accessories I was willing to sell at an additional cost. Some Craigslist warrior reported my listing because it didn’t include the full cost upfront I suppose. That post was taken down within 30 minutes of its posting. Meanwhile on FB Marketplace, I immediately got an interested buyer who negotiated the price to include the accessories anyways. I didn’t mind the negotiation because it was a parent gifting a present for her child, which was relatively straightforward to confirm from her FB profile.
The other situation involved selling a bike where FB Marketplace gave yet another immediate response and I never got any bite from Craigslist.
As much as I absolutely despise having to be a FB user to enable the above, it was undeniably more effective. I used to hate that FB was the only method for planning events, but Partiful has been conveniently filling that gap. I’m not sure if there’s a better marketplace app that conveys the same level of user trust as FB Marketplace, but Craigslist has certainly gone downhill from it’s all-purpose listing service to a more sketchy corner of the web.
I had a dinner chat earlier tonight specifically about how most of Craigslist’s main features have been replicated by tech companies these days (i.e. AirBnB, Indeed, FB Marketplace, dating apps). Perhaps the masses are just easily swayed by a pretty UI and a marketing budget, but that strategy has consistently been eating Web 1.0’s lunch for the past 10+ years.
I was a bit surprised to see Shia LaBeouf listed among the cast at the end, as I had assumed he had been cancelled from his sexual abuse allegations and overall being “difficult to work with” (which I read as an industry phrase for being an “asshole”).
Looking it up it seems his trial is set for October this year so perhaps there is still some benefit of the doubt legally, even if he seems to be losing in the court of public opinion.